5 Takeaways From Drake’s New Double Album, Scorpion

Last night, when Drake dropped Scorpion, he shared an all-caps statement in the editor’s notes section accompanying the album on Apple Music. Consider it his “I Love Kanye.” It reads:

I HATE WHEN DRAKE RAPS
DRAKE SINGS TOO MUCH
DRAKE IS A POP ARTIST
DRAKE DOESN'T EVEN WRITE HIS OWN SONGS
DRAKE TOOK AN L
DRAKE DIDN'T START FROM THE BOTTOM
DRAKE IS FINISHED
I LIKE DRAKE'S OLDER STUFF
DRAKE MAKES MUSIC FOR GIRLS
DRAKE THINKS HE'S JAMAICAN
DRAKE IS AN ACTOR
DRAKE CHANGED
ANYBODY ELSE > DRAKE …

YEAH YEAH WE KNOW

And with that, Drake set the tone for his biggest album yet, a 25-track double LP from the same vulnerable, hyper-self-aware sap who’s still trying to stick it to his haters. While 2016’s VIEWS was an ode to Toronto and 2017’s More Life was a sampling of global pop, Scorpion might just be… a reference to Drake’s zodiac sign being a Scorpio? He tries to please pop and rap fans alike with two distinct halves, but the unifying theme (as usual) centers around his own regrets and flexes. Along the way, he finally addresses the rumors that he's hiding a child, invites new female collaborators to the party, and surfaces previously unreleased recordings from Michael Jackson and Static Major. Here’s what you need to know going in.

Something For Everyone

Ever since he released the 20-track VIEWS, Drake has been serving up increasingly bloated projects. This is, of course, part of a thirsty pop trend, since more tracks equals more streams equals higher chart placement. So when Drake revealed that Scorpion would feature a whopping 25 tracks, it wasn't to anyone’s surprise. As if to confirm what Drake was really trying to do, this morning Spotify put his face on the cover of every playlist on their homepage—even for their bachata and emo rap playlists—even if no Scorpion songs appeared on them.

That said, Scorpion does feel like a double album, like there might actually be an artistic reason for it to be split in two. Side A features songs in which Drake mostly raps, as he leans into the same hardened industry-vet persona that came through on 2015's If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late. He stacks side B with more sung pop hits and lovelorn R&B tracks, knowing full well that what really gets many Drake fans going is Take Care and “One Dance.”

An Heir to Aubrey’s Fortunes

Last month, Pusha-T unleashed his vicious Drake diss track, “The Story of Adidon,” in which he raps: “You are hiding a child, let that boy come home.” While Drake issued a statement explaining the picture of him wearing blackface that Push used for the track's cover art, he never addressed the rumors that he has a child with former adult-film star Sophie Brussaux. But on Scorpion, Drake actually mentions his son quite a bit. He responds to Push on “Emotionless,” solemnly rapping, “I wasn‘t hiding my kid from the world, I was hiding the world from my kid.”

After more passing mentions of children on “Mob Ties” (“I’m not with the ra-ra/I am a dada”) and “Finesse” (“I want my baby to have your eyes”), Drake comes clean with the confessional closing track, “March 14.” He expresses regret that he hasn't been present in his son’s life, and promises to not be a deadbeat dad. “I’m out here on front lines just tryna make sure that I see him sometimes/It's breaking my spirit/A single father, I hate when I hear it,” Drake raps. He also mentions that he's only met his child once: “I got a empty crib in my empty crib/I only met you one time, introduced you to Saint Nick.”

While it was previously speculated by fans that March 14 was the date that his son was born, Drake clarifies in the track that his child’s birthday is October 11. It’s still unclear why “March 14” is the song‘s title (perhaps it's the day he found out about the pregnancy?), but coincidentally, that's also the date that Drake broke a Twitch streaming record by playing “Fortnite” with the popular gamer Ninja.

Collaborators: Old, New, and From the Grave

The most obvious shocker on _Scorpion _is the addition of two late artists: Michael Jackson and Static Major, the Grammy-winning songwriter and producer who helped pen hits for Aaliyah, Ginuwine, and Lil Wayne. “Don't Matter to Me” features a previously unheard sample of MJ singing the hook. It's unclear exactly when or where this recording took place, but Paul Anka also contributes vocals to the track and is listed as a composer, and Anka and Jackson collaborated around 1983. (Representatives for both Drake and Jackson did not immediately return a request for comment.) Meanwhile, Static Major’s widow Avonti Major confirmed in the comments of her recent Instagram post that the sample on “After Dark,” where Static chimes in on the hook, is from a previously unreleased song.

As far as album personnel is concerned, Drake stays faithful to his crew while still bringing in a few new voices. Familiar names Noah “40” Shebib, Boi 1da, No I.D., PARTYNEXTDOOR, and Murda Beatz are all among the producers on the album. Other featured artists include previous collaborators Future (“Blue Tint”), JAY-Z (“Talk Up”), and Ty Dolla $ign (“After Dark”), who continues his hot streak as hip-hop’s most featured guest this year. Scorpion also marks Drake’s first collaborations with rap legends DJ Premier and Three 6 Mafia’s DJ Paul. Preem handled the beat for “Sandra’s Rose,” the soul-sampling track that Drake wrote about his mom, in which he calls himself her “flower.” Paul, who is apparently close friends with Drake's dad, produced “Talk Up,” a freestyle featuring JAY-Z, in which the two rappers aim to intimidate.

Drake also brings new female collaborators into the mix on Scorpion. The New Orleans bounce-inflected “In My Feelings” features the Miami rap duo City Girls, as Drake calls them out by name: JT and Caresha (who goes by Yung Miami). It’s definitely funny to hear Yung Miami rap, “Fuck that Netflix and chill/What’s your net-worth,” on the same song that Drake sings heartfelt professions of love to multiple women. Elsewhere, Hiatus Kaiyote’s Nai Palm appears on “Is There More,” singing about how she’ll be “more than your lover for you.” A known Hiatus Kaiyote fan, Drake sampled the Australian neo-soul band's “Building a Ladder” on More Life’s “Free Smoke,” but this is the first time he’s collaborated directly with Nai Palm. And Drake gives a little shine to a relatively unknown artist from his hometown, with Toronto singer Asheley Turner adding vocals to “Mob Ties.”

Sampling Iconic Women

Besides new features from women, Scorpion also includes many samples from a wide range of iconic female artists. “Emotionless” samples Mariah Carey's soaring vocals from her hit “Emotion,” slowing down the ’90s bop into a tender gospel track. On “Nice for What,” Lauryn Hill’s “Ex-Factor” is chopped up into a New Orleans bounce template, aided by Big Freedia ad-libs. Continuing the Louisiana love, Drake samples and honors the late bounce rapper and former Cash Money signee Magnolia Shorty, who was killed in a tragic drive-by shooting in 2010. And speaking of his Cash Money family, he puts Nicki Minaj’s 2014 “Boss Ass Bitch” live performance on full display in “That's How You Feel.” On the atmospheric track, Drake pairs hyped-up crowd noise and fiery Nicki lines about getting played with his own weepy verses about a past relationship.

Finally, Drake samples a conversation between UK rapper Stefflon Don (who recently made the XXL Freshman cover) and her two former classmates Vinessa Douglas and Rhea Kpaka. The three gossip about men, closing out a song in which Drake reflects on a potentially soured connection with a British woman (“England breeds proper girls/Where are all your good manners?”). Scorpion often features Drake looking upon his past flings with regret; perhaps sampling women is, at its best, a way for him to suggest that there are two sides to this story.

Drake-isms Most Likely to Appear in an Instagram Caption

“I know a girl whose one goal was to visit Rome/Then she finally got to Rome/And all she did was post pictures for people at home/’Cause all that mattered was impressin’ everybody she’s known” (“Emotionles”)

“Don’t pull up at 6 a.m. to cuddle with me” (“God's Plan”)

“Two girls that I rope like I’m Indiana Jones/I make them hoes walk together like I’m Amber Rose” (“Sandra’s Rose”)

“Only lyin’ I do is lyin’ out in the tropics/Only cryin’ I do is cryin’ from laughin’ 'bout it/Only lackin’ I can do is my lack of responses/Only rest that I do is 'Where the rest of my commas’’ (“Is There More”)

“Houston women I wine-and-dine and take to the house/My moral compass is janky, it breaks in the South” (“Is There More”)

“How can you be angry on a night in July/And be warm with me when it's freezing outside” (“Summer Games”)

“I buy you champagne but you love some Henny/From the block like you Jenny/I know you special girl ’cause I know too many” (“In My Feelings”)

“You know, I need you to be open like Kay’s kitchen/That pussy kinda sound like waves hitting” (“Final Fantasy”)